Your Touch Is All I Need
by cheryllparker
Summary: Olivia Sherel has known Harry for quite some time, sending letters overseas to stay in contact with her friend, but nothing could quite prepare her for starting her 5th year at Hogwarts, dealing with a strict teacher, and falling in love. OOTP; HPOC
1. Change

**Well, it's my first story, so I'm not as experienced in writing as a lot of you amazing writers out there, but I hope you guys give it a shot. I was having thoughts about a Harry story and they idea came to me, and formed into a full story overtime. I hope you guys really enjoy it! Leave comments if you can! They would be greatly appreciated, even constructive criticism!**

**Summary: Olivia Sherel has known Harry for quite some time, sending letters overseas to stay in contact with her friend, but nothing could quite prepare her for starting her 5th year at Hogwarts wand dealing with a strict teacher.**

_**Disclaimer: I don't Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish I did, but I do any OC characters I have mentioned in this story.**_

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><p>I sighed, as I resisted the urge to close my eyes while Jonathon went on about the Vietnam War. There really was no reason for teachers to assign oral presentations, along with essays as projects. I mean, to be honest, no one even paid attention to what was being said. Mind you, Jonathon was a close friend of mine, but his presentation was still boring as hell.<p>

These were the times in life when I wished that I only went to Salem school without having to go to a public summer school.

Jonathon stopped speaking when there was a loud knock on the door. We all looked at our teacher who looked at the door expectantly, as if he was waiting for it to open. Yeah, waiting for a locked door to open. The knock came again, and he finally sighed, nodding his head, "Go ahead and open it Jonathon. I've stopped the timer."

Jonathon nodded, putting his papers on his desk before opening the door. I heard a loud bang before I saw him fall backwards to the ground.

"What the fuc-" I started to say but was cut off.

"Ok, everybody stay where the fuck you are. No one gets up, no one gets shot. You hear me?" A man walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He was wearing a black skiing mask, and was pretty well built, I could tell.

I felt tears spring to my eyes as I looked around at my classmates and saw that they were all either crying or so shocked they didn't know what to do. I remembered hearing about intruders in schools that killed many students, but I never thought something like that would actually happen to our school.

"Now, if you just calm down-" I heard our teacher start, getting up slowly. That was all he said though until I heard another gun shot go off, and noticed Mr. Johnson fall back in his chair.

Ok this really was crazy. Why the hell would anyone come into our school and threaten the students. It's not like we had ever done anything.

I couldn't spend time thinking about it in my seat though, because sooner or later everyone in this classroom would be dead. So I did what any other witch or wizard would've done in that situation. I pulled my wand out from my bag. Getting up slowly, I gripped it tighter, lifting it up slowly.

The man turned to me and lifted his gun, "What did I tell you sit back-"

"Petrificus Totalus!" I shouted quickly, pointing my wand at him. He froze and fell to the ground quickly.

I walked to the front of the room slowly, making my way to Jonathon.

"Did you just use a spell?"

"Was that magic?"

"You're a witch!"

I closed my eyes as I heard several of my classmates ask, confused and scared. I was screwed. I had used magic in front of my muggle class. But I had used it in defense to save everyone. They couldn't possibly take away my rights. "Will you guys please stop talking for right now? We need to help Jonathon AND Mr. Johnson." I said quickly. I tried to stay as calm as possible but it wasn't easy. There was blood everywhere and by the time the police came and took them away both of them had lost a large amount of blood.

When I was questioned about how the intruder fell, I had told the police that he had just fainted. Apparently, that's what some of the class said. The other majority stuck with telling the police that I was a witch and that I used magic. I guess you could say I was lucky that the police didn't believe them.

**IIIIIIIIIIII**

"What the fuck happened?" Ryan asked me as soon as he picked me up from the police station, after some interrogation.

"There was an intruder in the school and he had a gun, and he came into our classroom, and shot two people."

He looked over to me, concern etched across his face, "Are you serious? Olivia this is dangerous, why was there an intruder in the first-"

"Ryan, I used magic to stop him." I cut him, and got it off my chest. If I was going to get in trouble, I might as well make sure my brother knows why.

"You, WHAT?" He shouted, as we turned into the parking lot of our apartment. I got out of the car quickly, used my keys to open the front door, and made my way to the kitchen. I heard Ryan come in after me not two minutes later. "Olivia, how could you be so irresponsible?"

"You would've done the same thing if you were in my situation!"

"I would've thought it through at least, before putting myself in risk!" He was upset. No that was an understatement. He was downright angry.

I was growing irritated. There really was no reason for him to freak out! I was using magic in defense; it wasn't as if it was on purpose. "Ryan, I was keeping everyone safe! If I hadn't done anything, then we'd all be dead!"

His eyes softened, and he grabbed the back of his neck, sighing. "I know, I just- I was scared, Olivia. I'm sorry. We've already lost mom and dad, I don't think I could bare losing you."

I sighed, nodding, "I know, but there was nothi-"

I heard a pop right then, and looked up to notice a man, whom I recognized to be, the English Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, a toad like lady next to him wearing all pink, and our Minister of Magic Fortis Knight standing in our kitchen. Wait. Why the hell was Fudge here?

I looked at Ryan, who came to stand by me, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulder.

"Ms. Sherel, we were notified that you used magic at 12:17 PM Standard Eastern Time in front of 23 other muggles-" Knight began saying.

"You irresponsible girl! Do you not know the charges of using magic in front of muggles?" The stout woman yelled at me. Really, she was tiny. I was about 5'4 and I had to look down at her. Why exactly WAS she here? Or Fudge for that matter?

"Look, I was only defending my classmates, if I hadn't we'd all be de-"

"That's enough! Excuses or not, you've used magic in front of muggles. It's not something to be calm about!" Fudge stated, firmly. What a prick.

I looked back at Ryan, but he just sighed, shaking his head. "She was using it to her defense. When I last checked, using magic as defense in an emergency situation is allowed. " He said firmly.

"You know as well as I do, that this is a serious matter. She knew that she wasn't aloud to use magic in front of muggles, and yet she did. At her age, she should already have the rule memorized." Fudge responded.

"I was only protecting myself and the rest of the class. You can't possibly do anything when I was defending myself!" I said frustrated.

"Ms. Sherel, please don't shout. It's your own fault you're in this situation." Knight said annoyed.

I groaned, angry, rubbing my hand down my face. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, you will have to gi-" Right then another pop cut off Fudge.

"Ah, Cornelius, I heard you were here."

"Dumbledore! What are you doing here?" Fudge looked furious. Nope, he looked livid.

I couldn't believe it. I was standing face to face with THE Dumbledore. "I heard, that Ms. Sherel was stuck in this situation here, and thought that I could be of help." Oh, bless him.

"That will not be necessary Albus, it is all under control here." The stout woman said, in her high-pitched voice. I couldn't stand it. It was like listening to nails on a chalkboard.

"So, Ms. Sherel will be receiving a fair trial, I believe?" He asked, expectantly.

I turned to look up at Ryan who just looked down at me and winked. I bit back a smile. I had heard a lot about Dumbledore, and his compassion, but seeing that I was from the U.S, stories were as far as it got. But this, this was something I never thought, in my dreams, could ever happen. He was saving me from getting expelled from Salem and from North High.

Fudge mumbled something that sounded like an, 'That's why we're here', but continued glaring at Dumbledore.

"Now, Ms. Sherel would it be alright if you came with me? I believe we do have some things to talk about." Dumbledore turned to me, a soft smile on his face, his eyes twinkling under his crescent shaped spectacles.

I looked back at Ryan, who nodded, pushing my back a little. "Of course, sir," I said, following him out of the room and into the living room.

"Now, if I am correct, I believe that you are friends with Mr. Harry Potter?" He asked, smiling.

"Well, yeah, but we haven't kept in touch since June. He sort of stopped replying to my letters. How-how did you know, though?" I had never mentioned Harry to anybody besides Ryan.

"He has mentioned you very often, whenever I talk to him. He is very fond of you." He looked at me knowingly, "And I think I can explain his lack of response to you, however it is not place to say, so you will have to talk to him on your own about that."

"But... I can't talk to him if we're in two different continents, and he's not responding to my letters."

He held out his arm, "I believe a little change his necessary." I looked at his arm, then back to him. Did he really expect me to apparate with him while Ryan was still here? "Your brother will be told everything later, it's quite alright." He said, as if he read my mind.

I looked at his arm for a few minutes, contemplating whether I should go. It couldn't really hurt, could it? I mean, Dumbledore was the strongest and safest wizard known. I took his arm slowly, and immediately felt an uneasy sensation. I felt my stomach tighten, as I held on to Dumbledore's arm tighter, before I felt the ground beneath my feat again.

"Where are we?" I said, letting go of his arm, and looking around. There was a large apartment complex in front of us, with several windows. The wind was chillier, and I felt out of place in my shorts and t-shirt.

"We are at 12 Grimmauld Place." He said, looking around for any muggles, before saying a spell, to cause another door to form between the others. He led me inside quickly, walking down a long hallway where I could hear a group of hushed voices. I heard Dumbledore's fast but quiet voice among the group, and strained my ear to hear what he was saying, but it really was no use.

Walking down the hallway slowly, the voices became louder and more distinct until I came face to face with a group of adults arguing.

They all turned to me, before Dumbledore smiled, the same twinkle in his eye. I swear the man never stopped smiling. He was so positive. "This is Olivia Sherel. She will be staying here and attending Hogwarts this year, with Harry, Hermione, and Ron." Attending Hogwarts? That was funny. No really. I let out a laugh when he said that.

"What? Are you joking right now?"

"Yes, Kingsley and Remus will be able to explain more to you, but I have to leave now. Some other matters I have to deal with." And with that he had apparated out of the room, leaving me standing there awkwardly among the adults.

"Well, deary, you look tired. Go get some rest, and we then wash up for dinner. Everything will be explained then." A kind red head woman said, leading me the stairs. "Ginny?" She shouted.

A pretty redhead came down the stairs quickly, stopping at the first few steps, "Yes, mum?" She looked very similar the woman next to me, so I could only assume she was her daughter.

"Show Olivia to your room, she will be staying with here the rest of the summer." The woman said, hurriedly.

Ginny looked at me, confused, before turning back to her mother nodding, "Alright." She said, before turning back to me, "Come on." She said kindly, taking my hand before leading me upstairs.

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><p><strong>So that's about it for the first chapter. I know there's no meeting between the Trio &amp; Olivia, but it will be in the next chapter I promise! I just needed to set a basis, before going deep into the story. Please leave comments, I really would love to read feedback! :)<strong>

**-Cheryll**


	2. A Reason for Change

**No, I haven't forgotten about the story, before any of you say so. I actually think about it everyday and how to advance the plot, I was just having a hard time thinking of something that would make the whole story flow, but my writers block has now ended, so I'll be able to update more often. **I hope you guys like the second chapter! Sorry it's not nearly as interesting as the first one, but I need to get it moving slowly, in the beginning so that it makes sense in the end. Leave comments if you can! They would be greatly appreciated, even constructive criticism!****

_**Disclaimer: I don't Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish I did, but I do any OC characters I have mentioned in this story.**_

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><p>The house itself was pretty messy. There was dust everywhere, and it gave me a gloomy feeling, walking through it. The house elf was probably the rudest creature I had ever met, and it wasn't my first pick for an area to stay at.<p>

"This is my room," Ginny said, leading me inside to a fairly large room with two beds, "I share it with my friend Hermione. I'll ask mum to put an extra bed in here, sleeping on the ground isn't the best of options." She smiled.

I laughed, nodding my head, "Thank you, so much. I think a bed is what I need right now."

Ginny smiled, before looking around the room, before looking back at me awkwardly, "I don't mean to be rude, but why are you here?"

I sighed, running a hand through my already, messy hair, "I wish I could tell you, but I honestly don't know. Dumbledore brought me here, and then left."

She sighed, "That's understandable, he's been acting pretty weird this whole summer. He even told us not to send letters to Harry." Her voice changed when she said his name. It became softer.

"He told you not to send him letters?" I asked, breaking the awkwardness.

"Yeah, because of-" She stopped mid sentence, her eyes widening, "Because it's hard to put every piece of information in a letter." She said quickly. I could tell that she had changed what she was going to say. "He's here now, got here a few days ago. We can go talk to him if you want to." She continued, excitedly, pulling my hand out of the room, before stopping quickly. "Wait," She quickly turned around, "How do you know Harry?"

"He was my neighbor before I moved to the states when I was eleven."

"Oh!" She said, as if she realized something, "So you're the Olivia he's always talking about!" Her voice changed slightly.

"I guess, so. Does he really talk about me that often?" I smiled at the thought.

"Well not as much any more but he used to. C'mon let's go talk to him. You can meet Ron and Hermione." She all but dragged me down the old hallway. I laughed at her quirkiness. We were going to be good friends, I could tell.

Ginny led me to another, smaller, room, where I could hear voices coming from. "Guys, we've got a visitor... well she's not really a visitor, because she's staying the rest of the summer with us." She said excitedly, as soon as she opened the door. "This is Olivia."

There were five people in the room, 3 redheads, two of whom were twins, a curly haired brunette, and Harry.

"Olivia?" A wide-eyed Harry said quickly, getting up from his bed. "What are you doing here?"

Before I could answer his question, I felt arms around my waist, holding me tightly. I stood there for moment, surprised, before I wrapped my arms around him. "I've missed you, so much." He whispered, softly, in my ear. I couldn't help but feel small prickles in my stomach as I held him tightly. He smelled amazing, not like any cologne, but more natural. Like a mix of rain and spearmint.

"I missed you too." I whispered, before pulling away, smiling. He smiled, before stepping aside, so I could see everyone else in the room.

"Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, this is the Olivia I've told you about."

"So you're Olivia-" One of the twins said, I couldn't tell if it was Fred or George.

"We were beginning to think that you weren't real-" The other continued his sentence.

"And that Harry made up another bestfriend-"

"It's good to see that you aren't fake." They said together, taking either of my hands, and shaking them.

I glanced back and forth between the two of them before laughing, "Do you always finish each others sentences?"

"Usually-"

"But not always." They said again.

I shook my head, "Well, you're not helping the fact that I can't tell you apart."

"You'll get used to it." They said together.

"Wait, if you're from America, why do you have a British accent?" The other red head, Ron, said, scratching his hair. The bushy haired girl, Hermione, hit him hard in the stomach and he just glared at her. "I just want to know, it's not like you weren't wondering the same thing."

I laughed, "Well, I moved there when I was 10, so I guess you could say my accent had settled in." He nodded, satisfied with my answer, "But it's nice to meet you, Ron. Harry talks all about you. To be honest, all of his letters usually are about you and Hermione."

Hermione raised an eyebrow to Harry, looking at him, "Does he? I'm going to have to ask you about those letters later on." She smiled, "It's nice to meet you Olivia, I'm Hermione, though you already know that from Harry."

I smiled, "I will definitely tell you about the letters, later. But, it's nice to meet you all in person.

They all smiled, before a silence fell upon the room. I would be lying if I said that it wasn't extremely awkward. What was I supposed to say? I had been in the room for a total of five minutes.

"So, Olivia, what are you doing here, in England, if you don't mind me asking." Hermione said, breaking the silence. The girl really was brilliant.

"Well, it's a pretty long story." I started, slowly.

"We've got loads of time until dinner." Harry said, taking his seat back on his bed.

I sighed, nodding, before telling them all about my day, and how my life had changed during one class period.

**IIIIIIIIIIII**

"So you mean to tell me, that Salem doesn't even serve decent pudding during dinner?" Ron asked, shocked.

Hermione hit him in the stomach, earning a 'what' from him, and a glare from her in return. "That's hardly the point Ronald. Olivia could've been seriously hurt." She said, quickly, before turning to me, "Do you not find it odd that an intruder came into your school? Especially considering that it is as small of a town as you say so."

"I hadn't given it much thought, but yeah I guess you're right. The police still need to do an investigation, and according to Dumbledore, the memories of my classmates will be erased from when I cast the spell."

"Well, they couldn't have expelled you from Salem, even if you weren't coming to Hogwarts." Hermione said, sighing. "The ministry's been all over the place with any sort of underage magic. Harry had his trial yesterday for using a patronus charm."

I furrowed my eyebrows, turning to Harry, "Why did you have to use a patronus charm?"

"There were two Dementors in Little Whinging. The Ministry seemed to have forgotten that I was using self-defense." He said, angrily.

It was quiet for a moment before Fred spoke, "Well, one thing's for certain." He said, speaking up for the first time since I told them about what happened, "You'll love the food at Hogwarts."

I snorted, looking at him, "I'm sure I will."

"Kids, time for dinner! Hurry downstairs." Mrs. Weasley's voice yelled from downstairs.

"Well, we'll have to discuss this later." Hermione said, quickly, getting of the bed and heading for the door, followed by everyone.

**IIIIIIIIIIII**

It didn't feel right having dinner at someone's house I didn't know. Especially if I STILL didn't why I was at the house. I didn't know anyone there besides Harry and the few people I had met, but I didn't even know them that well. It was just, uncomfortable. To top it all off, Ryan wasn't even here yet, like Dumbledore had said.

"So Olivia," the darker man, cleared his throat. He was an auror. Kingsley Shacklebolt to be exact, if I remembered correctly from when Mrs. Weasley pointed him out. I could hear an accent as he said my name, but it definitely wasn't British, "I believe you deserve some explanations as to why you're here."

The table quieted down then, and everyone was listening to him carefully. It was obvious; I wasn't alone in feeling awkward. "Well, to get straight to the point, your use of magic in front of a class of muggle students is the main reason you're here." I nodded slowly, waiting for him to continue, "The Ministry of Magic has its wand in a tight knot, to understate the situation. They have been very harsh on the way they treat magic use outside of school. More so, then usual. Anyone who, supporting Harry or in relation to him, is being targeted especially strongly, which is why Fudge showed up in your apartment today. He doesn't trust anyone who is in connection with him in any way."

"But how could Fudge have possibly known that I knew Harry? I mean, the only form of contact we had was-"

"Letters." The man named Remus cut me off. "Your only form of contact with Harry was letters, which is exactly why it was extremely easy for the Ministry to find out that you were in contact with him. They've been intercepting owls for a couple of months now."

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. It was all just hard to swallow. The Ministry intercepting owls. Fudge in my apartment. Me coming to this apartment. And having to start Hogwarts this September instead of Salem.

I widened my eyes, as realization hit me about Hogwarts. I wouldn't be able to go back to my friends. My dormitory. My school. "Why is it that I had to come here? And why do I have to go to Hogwarts?"

"Well, you're going to have to go to trial, like Harry did yesterday. Dumbledore will be there, so there is no reason to worry about anything, but I should warn you that Ministry officials can be nasty people, especially during any legal cases." Kingsley said.

A trial. An actual trial. For what exactly? Using magic in self-defense? "It still doesn't make sense to me why I have to go to trial if I was using magic in self defense."

"The Ministry is being extremely tight about any sort of law breaking, whether self defense or not. And adding to the fact that you know Harry, just gives them more of a reason to try to expel you from Salem. It won't happen though. You can count on Dumbledore." Lupin explained.

"And Hogwarts?"

It was silent for a moment before Lupin spoke up, "Well, that's something we really can't explain. You see, Dumbledore hasn't exactly told us why you're switching schools; he only mentioned that it's for your safety. But Dumbledore is a smart man. I wouldn't question his judgment, and neither should you."

"My safety? And what am I being kept safe from?"

"You'll have to ask the Headmaster that question, Olivia. We told you everything we knew." Lupin sighed.

I nodded trying to take everything in. It was just too much to handle. Having an intruder in our school, using magic to stop him, having Fudge come, Dumbledore taking me here, learning that I had to go to Hogwarts for this year, and Merlin knows how long, _and_ moving because of my safety, even though I didn't know what the danger was. The only positive thing that came out of the day was that I finally got to meet Ron and Hermione, after hearing so much about them, and I got to see Harry after six years.

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><p><strong>So that's it for the second chapter. I know it's short, and I've said it already but, <strong><strong>I need to get it moving slowly, in the beginning so that it makes sense in the end. It's not exactly my favorite writing, because I feel like it's rushed, but I don't know what to do to fix it, so<strong>** please leave comments, I really would love to read feedback! Constructive Criticism is recommended! :)**

**-Cheryll**


	3. Toad Face

**So here is the next update! It's fairly long, I think, as opposed to my other ones, so I'm happy about that. But, I'm just scared the content isn't good. Before you go on to reading the story, I should let you know that any major events in the story will be similar to the movie instead of the book, just because I haven't read the book in a while, and I watched the movie more recently. Thank you to _CarminaxBuranx, HarryHermioneBellaSwan, TopazEyes137, sara253xxx, and lily _for leaving the lovely reviews for the story! I really appreciate it! And to anyone who's reading the story, if you wouldn't mind, could you leave at least a small review on whatever you think of it so far, or for the chapter? I really like reading the reviews, and they help me with my next chapters.**

**Also, some of you guys have messaged me asking for a picture/description of what Olivia looks like, so I have posted a picture on my profile, of how I imagined her.**

_**Disclaimer: I don't Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish I did, but I do any OC characters I have mentioned in this story.**_

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><p><em>{Train Ride to Hogwarts}<em>

"You're going to love Hogwarts, trust me." Ron said, taking a seat beside me in the compartment.

The trial had gone well, as Lupin and Kingsley had assured me. Fudge didn't really stand a chance once Dumbledore had arrived. According to Harry, that's how it had been when he had gone to trial. The rest of the couple days of summer had been spent finding school supplies, and meeting with Dumbledore regarding what house I was going to be in. Luckily enough, I did get into Gryffindor, but my begging to the hat might have been a part of the reason I got into the house.

"I really don't know if it can compare with Salem though." I smirked back Ron, irritating him purposefully.

"Oh really? Well, at least we _have_ pudding during dinner." He retorted quickly.

"Oh, would you just let the pudding go, Ronald. There a better desserts at Hogwarts anyways." Hermione said taking out a copy of the Daily Prophet. He grumbled something, before crossing his arms, sitting there with an annoyed look on his face. I laughed, at the expression. The guy would do anything Hermione told him to do. It was pretty obvious that he had a crush on her; you'd have to be blind to not be able to tell.

I was glad that I had come to England. Everyone did treat me like family, after the awkwardness had died down. Ron was the person I got along with the best after Harry. His sense of humor was just something that was needed around the house whenever there were talks of Voldemort or even Cedric's death.

I looked across at Harry, who was just staring out the window in deep thought. I knew he had taken the death harshly from the few letters he had sent me, but it was even worse in person. He was always moping around, in a bad mood, shouting at anyone that would bother him. He was completely different from the Harry I talked to in the letters.

"Harry?" I said, getting his attention. He looked at me, raising his eyebrows in question, "Are you okay?"

He sighed, massaging the back of his neck, "Yeah. Just tired."

"It's those dreams isn't it?" Hermione asked, concerned. "Harry, you can't keep letting him get to you. You have to tell Dumbledore."

"Yeah, because that's gone so well hasn't it?" He snapped, annoyed. "It's not as if Dumbledore's been ignoring this whole summer. He didn't say a word to me at the trial, and whenever we have meetings for the Order, he ignores whatever I say to him."

Ah, the Order of the Phoenix. The secret society that fought against deatheaters and Voldemort. My dad had been a part of the group before my parents were killed and I moved to Pennsylvania with Ryan to live with our Aunt and Uncle. Ryan got an apartment when he got a good paying job a few years later, and I moved in, well more of barged in, after.

"It's Dumbledore, mate. He probably has a reason for it." Ron spoke up. I nodded, looking at Harry. His angsty mood didn't really fit him. Actually, it didn't fit him at all. Harry turned back to the window, staring at the moving grass.

"So..." I said, trying to break the tension. "Tell me about the classes at Hogwarts. Which ones should I look forward too?"

Hermione's eyes brightened, as she began at a talking at an unimaginable rate. I glanced back at Harry, noticing that he was looking at me, eyebrows burrowed. I raised my eyebrows, in question, but he just shook his head and turned to Hermione, joining the conversation at appropriate parts.

I sighed, tuning back into Hermione talking about Snape being a rude teacher and laughed whenever Ron made a comment about him, but in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder about the Dreams Harry had been having about Voldemort. It scared me that he could see into Voldemort's mind, so I could only imagine how he felt.

"We should be leaving for the prefects meeting." Hermione said, getting up, suddenly.

Ron groaned, "We've got about 10 minutes, 'Mione. Why can't we just wait?"

"I am not going to be late to my first prefect meeting because of your laziness Ronald. Now come on." She said, forcing him up and out of the compartment, "We'll see you two on the platform, okay?"

"Sure." Harry nodded. Hermione smiled, before leaving the compartment, leaving Harry and me alone. I turned to look at him, but he was just staring at the seat next to me, in thought. It was getting frustrating, being around him. He would do nothing but think, I mean that's a good thing, but Harry just completely isolated himself from everyone.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Just some things about the Order and stuff." He looked at me quickly before looking away to the window.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Was there a reason he was hiding something from me now, of all times. Especially considering that he had told me everything that ever happened to him in the past in letters. "What stuff"?

He sighed, looking back at me, "Well don't you think it's weird that Fudge went all the way to Pennsylvania because you used magic in front of Muggles? You would think that Fortis Knight would be the only one there."

"I asked Kingsley about that later on. Apparently Fudge has got more power over Knight, so he decided his word would be more stronger and convincing."

He nodded his head, before opening his mouth again, "Haven't you thought about what Lupin said though? About keeping you safe?"

I had thought about it. It was the only thing that took up all my thoughts whenever I was alone. I had contemplated a lot of theories, but none of them exactly made sense as to why Dumbledore was trying to protect me. "I have..." I said slowly.

He raised his eyebrows, "And?"

"Well, what do you want me to say Harry? That I've figured everything out on my own?" I said, getting frustrated. What did he expect from me?

"Well, I was hoping that you would've figured something out by now. I mean, does nothing really make sense to you?"

"Harry, if I had thought of something that was even relatively close to making sense, I would've told you." I snapped.

"Fine, I was just asking." He snapped back, before sighing, running a hand through his already messy hair, "Look, I'm sorry. I just... I've been so occupied thinking about the Ministry and the newspaper articles and Dumbledore and this on top of everything else is just… I'm scared for you."

"Harry, don't you think I'm scared either? Dumbledore hasn't given me one reason why I'm staying here, and I still don't know what I'm being protected from. But, I'm a big girl Harry, I can take care of myself for sure." I said, and he nodded his head, " And those other things, Harry you don't need to handle them alone. You have friends. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George. You know you can talk to anyone right?"

"Yeah, but it'll just be a burden to them and add on to their list of worries." He said, upset.

"Harry Potter, you listen to me right now. You will talk to your friends if you're overwhelmed, you will ask them for help, and you will stop this depressed bullshit. It doesn't fit you."

Harry smiled, "I'll try, but I can't promise anything."

I rolled my eyes. Of course he couldn't. "Well, it's a start."

**IIIIIIIIIIII**

"How was the Prefect's Meeting?" I asked, taking a seat next to Ron in the Great Hall. It was decorated beautifully, with candles hanging over the sealing, four long tables for each house, and one long head table at the end of the room for the professors. I really didn't expect it to look as beautiful as Harry had told me in his letters, but I was wrong. Every thing about the room and castle felt welcoming and warm. Salem had left my mind as quickly as I had entered the castle. It really was unbelievable. It wouldn't be hard getting used to living here.

"Oh brilliant." Ron started, sarcastically, "It would've gone a lot faster if someone hadn't been asking so many bloody questions the entire time." He glared across the table at Hermione, who just glared back.

"Well I'm sorry that I like to take in all the information they give me Ronald. It's not like you're the most reliable source when it comes to school rules." She argued back.

"Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore's voice said loudly, quieting the Great Hall. "Now before we begin the feast, I would like to state a few changes for the school year. Professor Hagrid will not be returning to his post as Care of Magical Creatures professor due to personal time off. In his place, Professor Grubbly Plank has agreed to return to the position."

I turned to face Hermione, raising my eyebrows, but she just shook her head confused. "What'dya reckon Hagrid's doing?" Ron whispered. Harry shrugged his shoulders, creasing his forehead.

"I would also like to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge. I'm sure you will all join me in wishing the professor good luck." Dumbledore pointed to a woman wearing an all pink coat and skirt. It was the woman I had seen at my apartment when Fudge had come. I squinted my eyes, to get a better look, but Harry's comment distracted me.

"She was at my hearing." He whispered, "She works for Fudge." Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and looked back at Umbridge, shaking her head.

"What's wrong?" I asked, at her expression.

She opened her mouth to respond but stopped when a high-pitched cough was heard. "Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." Umbridge said, getting up from her seat and walking toward the podium Dumbledore was standing at. "And how lovely, to see your bright, happy, faces, smiling up at me. I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends."

"That's likely." Fred & George said together. I snorted, and noticed Umbridge trying to contain her calm demeanor.

She looked at them before continuing her speech, "The Ministry of Magic has always considered that education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. Although, each headmaster has brought something new to this _historic _school." She nodded at Dumbledore, who nodded in return, "Progress for the sake of progress, **must **be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved. Perfect what can be perfected, and prune practices that ought to be, _prohibited._" She giggled when she finished, before returning to her seat.

I raised my eyebrows, trying not to laugh at the speech. It had been pretty amusing, and I could tell I wasn't the only one who thought so.

"Thank you Professor Umbridge, for that enlightening speech." Dumbledore said

"Enlightening? What a load of waffle." Ron smirked. "What d'ya suppose it means?" He glanced at Hermione.

She looked at Harry, then toward Ron, before turning back to face Dumbledore. "It means… that the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts."

"Why would they find it necessary to interfere at Hogwarts?" I asked.

"Probably to make sure that people don't believe Harry or Dumbledore about You-Know-Who." She sighed.

"Right foul git, Fudge is; and Umbridge doesn't look any less of a toad." Ron said, annoyed, "She won't be able to stay here long. It's not like anyone seems to like her." Ron continued.

I glanced at Harry who was just staring at his goblet. He hadn't said a word since Umbridge's speech. "I wouldn't underestimate the Ministry. If they're in charge than they might have her stay here for a couple of years." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Come on, let's eat dinner quickly. I'm tired."

**IIIIIIIIIIII**

"Olivia, I've been wanting to ask you." Hermione started as we prepared for bed. The rest of the girls had fallen asleep a while ago, "Why were you in a Muggle school during the summer?"

Well, that wasn't a hard question at all. "When I was 10, my mum wanted me to go to muggle summer school after the Hogwarts year was over. She was a muggle, so she didn't want me to 'lose ties to the muggle world' in her words." I laughed, "After she died and we moved, I guess it sort of stuck with me, and I've been doing it ever since I was eleven."

Hermione nodded, slowly, "That was really smart of her! I should talk to my parents about doing some sort of muggle summer program! It sounds like fun!" Of course she would think so.

"Oh trust me, it isn't." I groaned at the thought.

"You're just like Harry and Ron, I swear." She laughed, lying down in her bed. "We have to get up early tomorrow for classes, so I am going to sleep. Goodnight Olivia!"

"'Night Hermione." I said, before lying in my own bed, closing my eyes, thoughts of ol' toad face and the Ministry running through my mind.

**IIIIIIIIIIII**

"This scheduling is unbelievable." Ron said with eggs in his mouth. I stared at him, wrinkling my face in disgust.

I looked down at my breakfast, suddenly not hungry. It didn't take much to ruin a good appetite. Looking back up, I noticed a brown pair of eyes, from the Ravenclaw staring in our direction. Now, there were a lot of moments that I had experienced in my life, but noticing people staring in your direction was always the weirdest. I mean, it would happen to me all the time, where one minute I zone out, and the other minute, someone's giving me a weird stare, but being the one receiving the look, now that was just cruel.

The guy smiled, and I didn't know what to do, so I smiled in return. "Who are you looking at?" Harry asked, leaning over.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you, and say that I don't know."

"You don't know who you're looking at?" He raised his eyebrows, amused.

"Harry, I don't know everyone in this school! Normal people don't find out the names of other people from the whole grade, or even the names of the people from other grades in one day." I sassed him.

"Please close your mouth Ronald." Hermione said, irritated, bringing me back to the conversation.

He swallowed his breakfast quickly before continuing, "Defense Against the Dark Arts with the toad then, Double potions with Slytherins, Divination, and finally History of Magic. And then we've got Herbology, Astronomy, Charms, and Transfiguration tomorrow." He groaned, banging his head against the table.

"Oh Ron, don't be so dramatic." Hermione said amused.

"Yeah it could be worse. You could have Ancient Runes." Harry laughed, receiving a glare from Hermione.

"Hey!" I smacked Harry across the head, "Ancient Runes is a fascinating subject."

Hermione smiled satisfied, "Thank you Olivia. You know, I still don't understand why you two don't like it." She glanced from Ron to Harry.

"Because it's boring." Ron said, as-a-matter-of-factly.

"So you would rather learn about the 'Inner Eye'?" Hermione asked sarcastically.

"No, I'd rather just sleep in both classes. But Divination has comfortable seats." Ron retorted, smug.

Harry snorted, shaking his head. "We should get going." He said, getting up. "Or we'll be late to class. And Merlin knows what'll happen if we're late to Umbridge's class."

We followed him to the class, discussing various different punishments Umbridge would possibly use on students.

"She might just turn us into toads so she doesn't feel so bad about herself." Ron smirked.

"She doesn't need to change you Ron." I responded, earning a laugh from Harry and a giggle from Hermione. His toad jokes were becoming repetitive.

"Are you jealous of my good looks Olivia, or of my good looks?"

"Oh, shove it."

When we reached the classroom, most of the seats had been taken, besides a couple few in the front. I followed Hermione to the second row, taking a seat beside her. Umbridge was nowhere to be seen. The classroom was fairly large, larger than the Defense classroom at Salem, and there were stairs, toward the end, leading to the office.

"Ahem." I high voice came from the back of the room, causing everyone turned around. The pink frill on the jacket and skirt was enough for anyone to know that Umbridge was standing in the back. "Ordinary, Wizarding, Level, Examinations. O. W. Ls." She began, pointing her wand to the chalkboard at the front of the room, writing the words out. "More commonly known as Owls." She walked to the front of the room, smiling, unusually sweetly at the class. I turned to Hermione who looked just as amused. She pointed her wand toward a stack of books behind her, and they began passing themselves out to the rest of the class.

The book landed on my desk and I stared down at it, reading the title, _Defense Against the Dark Arts: A Guide for Beginners._ A guide for beginners? We were in fifth year and the book was called a guide for beginners.

"Your previous instruction has been disturbingly uneven. But you will be pleased to know, from now on, you will be following a carefully structured, _Ministry approved_ course."

Hermione raised her hand, looking irritated. "There's nothing in here about using spells?"

"Using spells?" Umbridge laughed. I swear if I would slap the woman I could. "My dear, I can't imagine why you would need to you defensive spells."

"We're not going to use magic?" I asked, disconcerted.

"You'll be learning defensive spells in a secure, risk free way."

"What use is that, if we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk free." Harry said, irritated.

"Students will raise their hands in my class room." Umbridge responded quickly, before calming down. "The Ministry believes that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which in fact is what school is all about."

"And how is theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry retorted, his voice rising.

"There's nothing out there, my dear. Who do you think would want to harm children like yourselves?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe, Lord Voldemort." There were hushed whispers in the room, as Umbridge's face contorted into annoyance before calming herself.

"Now listen here, you have been told rumors that a certain dark wizard is at once large again. This is a lie." She said, coolly.

"It's not a lie, I saw him, I fought him!" Harry shouted, angrily.

"Detention Mr. Potter!" Umbridge shouted over him.

"So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead on his own accord?"

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident."

"I was there the night he was murde—"

"ENOUGH!" Umbridge shouted, furiously. "Detention Mr. Potter. My room, tomorrow night at seven." She laughed before taking a deep breath and starting the lesson. "Turn to page 10 of your books, where we will begin on learning the importance of learning Defensive Arts theoretically. I want five scrolls about why Defense Theory is important on my desk next class."

"Five scrolls?" Ron complained.

"Do you want me to increase the number, Mr. Weasley?" She asked, waiting for a response. When she got none, she continued the 'lesson', reading straight out of the book.

**IIIIIIIIIIII**

"She's completely insufferable." I said, throwing my bag on the couch. "Five scrolls? On theory? What does she expect us to write? The book doesn't even discuss it for five pages. I like Snape _much_ better." I took a seat on the ground against the sofa.

"I don't even think I can decide on who's the worse teacher. They're both bloody annoying." Ron said, taking a seat on the sofa.

"We're not learning magic. We're not using spells. She's going to ruin the whole school." Hermione angrily threw her bag on the sofa before taking a seat next to Ron.

Harry sat across from me, sending me a sympathetic smile. "Harry, next time, don't speak out in the class." I said, thinking of the argument he had with Umbridge in class.

"Well what do you expect me to do Olivia, sit back while she feeds us lies? She's going to ruin the whole school."

"Well mate, at least you'll know what detention 'll be like with her. The worse she can do is turn you into is a nasty animal." Ron said, trying to lift his spirits.

"Thanks Ron." Harry responded annoyed.

I sighed, grabbing my bag and looking through the books to sort out my work. "I think I'm going to head down to the library to get some work finished. I don't want to get behind in the beginning of the school year." I sighed, standing up.

"You sound like Hermione, Olivia." Harry said, amused.

"Hermione rolled her eyes, getting up with me, "That's a smart idea Olivia. I was just going to go upstairs into the dorm to finish work, do you want to come with me there?"

"Nah, to many distractions." I said, grabbing my Potions and Defense Against the Darks books.

"Ok, well, you _do_ know where the library is, right?"

"Yeah, I saw it on the way to Potions. Don't worry about me. I'm going to have to get used to the school anyways."

She nodded, and I bid goodbyes to the three of them before leaving the common room. I headed down the stairs for the library, thinking about my conversation with Harry I had on the train ride to Hogwarts. _I'm scared for you_, he had told me. _He _was scared for _me. _As much as his worrying bothered me, it made me feel better. Even, comforted. Was I supposed to feel comforted when Harry said he was worried about me? He was my best friend after all, so it did make sense. But, it wasn't something that I had bee—

"Oof." I said, falling on my butt, my books spreading everywhere. I hadn't noticed that I had walked right into a guy, while I was thinking about Harry. Since when did I think about Harry so…deeply?

"Woah, sorry about that." A hand reached out to mine, helping me up. "I wasn't paying attention." I looked up and was met with the same brown eyes from breakfast. "You're the new student aren't you?" He asked, smiling at me. I guess word had gotten out there was a new student at Hogwarts.

"Yeah, Olivia Sherel, fifth year." I responded, quickly.

"Tristan Breakerfield, sixth year. It's nice to meet you Olivia, welcome to the school! Now, where were you headed?" He asked, helping me pick up my books.

"Are you going to follow me now?" I asked, amused.

"Well, I can't promise I won't. But I'll try my best not to."

I laughed, "I was just headed to the library. The work I've gotten today is unbelievable."

"Oh, I was just headed there also!" He said, excitedly.

"You were headed there, walking in the opposite direction?"

"Yeah, I was going to put some of my books back in the common room, then come back, but I guess I'll just walk with you instead."

I raised my eyebrows, trying not to laugh. Guys really didn't understand the concept of not flirting with girls the moment they met us? I wasn't stupid, I knew when someone was trying to flirt with me, but it was always just amusing in these sorts of situations.

"So what work do you have to finish?" He asked me, starting up conversation.

"Well, i've got a five scrolls to write for Defense Against the Dark Arts on theory, two scrolls for Potions on the Draught of Peace, and one scroll for History of Magic on the Statue of Secrecy." I listed off my workload. My head started hurting, when I thought more and more about how much work I had to finish.

"Oh, tough luck. I haven't got it nearly as bad as you. Just a couple of scrolls in Transfiguration and one scroll in Herbology that isn't due till next week." He grinned.

"There's no way, you only have three scrolls to do." I said, entering the library, and finding an empty table to sit at.

"Well, I have harder classes tomorrow, so that's when the real workload begins." He responded, taking a seat across from me.

I sighed, pursing my lips. "You aren't going to talk too much are you? I really don't need someone here to distract me while I work."

"Of course not, unless I have questions. But if I had known I was such a distraction before, I wouldn't have come with you in the first place." He smiled, cheekily.

I rolled my eyes, before taking out some parchment to begin my essay. I could feel Tristan's eyes on me as I took out my quill, and inwardly groaned. This was not what I needed right now. I looked up at him, expectantly, but he just shook his head. "Okay, well if you're just going to sit there, you might as well make yourself useful. Are you good at potions?" I asked, breaking the awkwardness. Was he good at potions? What a stupid question. He _was_ a Ravenclaw after all.

"I don't mean to brag, but yeah, fairly good."

"Good. Then you can tell me what the exactly the Draught of Peace is." I responded, and that's how we spent the next couple of hours in the library, working on my various essays.

**IIIIIIIIIIII**

"Still up, I see." I said, as I noticed Harry sitting on the ground in front of the fireplace in the common room, as soon as I returned from the library. It was pretty late, and the common room was practically empty, give or take a few students working on their assignments.

"Yeah, I'm having trouble with this last bit of the portion of the Potions essay." He said, sticking the end of his quill in his mouth. "Why are you so late?"

"I was getting help with my work, and I'm almost done with all of it." I said, dropping my books next to him, and taking a seat on the sofa.

"Help?"

"A sixth year helped me out with Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Did you know Potions can be a fairly interesting subject when Snape isn't teaching it? Blew my mind."

Harry chuckled, setting his papers aside, before getting up and taking a seat next to me. "I feel like we haven't actually had the chance to talk properly ever since you've gotten here. Everytime I sent you letters I always told you how I was going to tell you every little event in much more detail in person, but now that you're here, we've barely spoken."

"I'm starting to think you want to talk to me, Potter."

"Don't flatter yourself, Sherel. I just feel bad because you're new."

I pushed him, laughing, before getting up to stretch. "Well I guess, our conversation is going to have to wait until next time Harry, because I'm _very_ tired, and I'm going to dye if I don't get sleep immediately."

"Well don't die on me, wouldn't want that rumor going around along with the others." He responded, yawning.

I rolled my eyes, and collected my things before turning back to face Harry, "Don't stay up too late, okay? You've got to be able to stay up for your detention tomorrow with Umbridge."

"Haha, very funny. Now go to sleep."

I stuck my tongue at him, and headed for the dormitory for sleep. Ironically I dreamt about a certain green-eyed wizard that night.

* * *

><p><strong>So that's all for the third chapter. <strong><strong>I feel like it's moving a little fast, but I don't know what to do to fix it, so<strong>** please leave comments, I really would love to read feedback! Constructive Criticism is recommended! :)**

**-Cheryll**


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